Half Norwegian pilots 'slept in cockpit'

HALF of all Norwegian airline pilots admitted to falling asleep in the cockpit, according to a study published today, with pilots saying their drowsiness was due to excessive workloads.

Out of 389 pilots who responded to a poll conducted on behalf of public broadcaster NRK, two perc ent admitted they "often" fell asleep behind the controls without alerting their co-pilot, while 48 percent said they dozed off "once" or "rarely".

"We fear that this is an indication that the pilots are exhausted when they arrive at work," Aleksander Wasland, the vice president of the Norwegian Airline Pilots Association said.

"We have been sounding the alarm for a long time now. To make efficiency gains we have loosened the regulations by lengthening working hours and cutting back periods of rest," he said.

According to Mr Wasland, it is not unusual for an airline pilot to work up to 15 hours a day, and 60-hour work weeks with numerous consecutive days with up to 13 hours in the cockpit are not uncommon.

"The airplane remains a safe mode of transport, but it is obvious that these cases represent a risk element that we could do without," he said.